I have you now, my precious
WHO: Herakles and Kiku
WHEN: 22nd June, evening
WHERE: A pirate ship
WHAT: Heracles finally got a chance to spar with Kiku.
Heracles had a free evening that day. Some sort of business deal had come up that apparently required special discretion, so Willem had sent even him away. Not that Heracles was worried, Willem was no bad fighter himself, sometimes Heracles wondered if the reason he even kept a duellist was mostly for show.
An unexpected free evening was all well and good, and there were always ways to entertain oneself in a big city, but that evening Heracles had decided to pursue something... special. Or rather, someone special.
Kiku Honda, a swordsman of the infamous Captain Kirkland. Honda was exotic, mysterious and had a air of nobility that seemed strange among pirates. Indeed, he seemed to keep himself aloof from even his crewmates, though Heracles hadn't quite been able to tell if it was with pride or humility, or some other feeling entirely.
Before seeing him in action, though, Heracles had wondered if this tiny, seemingly delicate man could really be the swordsman he'd heard stories about.
That was before he did see him in a fight. Damn. Heracles had almost gotten skewered by an opponent because he couldn't take his eyes off the swordsman, with his elegant and deadly movements.
Since then, he'd been itching to try his own skills against Honda, though he suspected in a serious fight he probably would find himself second. To be honest, that knowledge only made him want it more. One never learned anything, after all, except by fighting against those who were better.
In hindsight, perhaps he should have worded that first challenge in some other way than "You must let me have a taste of you," but Heracles felt he had a good excuse for having been somewhat... distracted at the time. He could understand how that might have been confusing for someone as straight-laced as Kiku Honda, though.
Still, his more courteous challenges since then had always been deflected too, Heracles thought a bit dejectedly. Hopefully only because it hadn't ever been a good time, though Kiku hadn't answered the written invitations either...
However, here he was now, on the deck of a ship in dock, actually practicing. Heracles just watched for a moment more, enjoying the view, before stepping on the the deck himself, his feet landing on it almost soundlessly.
"Kiku Honda," he greeted the other man, his voice seeming to caress the name as he took a better hold of the cross staff he was carrying, angling it in front of himself in a challenging way. "Would you like someone real to spar against?"
WHEN: 22nd June, evening
WHERE: A pirate ship
WHAT: Heracles finally got a chance to spar with Kiku.
Heracles had a free evening that day. Some sort of business deal had come up that apparently required special discretion, so Willem had sent even him away. Not that Heracles was worried, Willem was no bad fighter himself, sometimes Heracles wondered if the reason he even kept a duellist was mostly for show.
An unexpected free evening was all well and good, and there were always ways to entertain oneself in a big city, but that evening Heracles had decided to pursue something... special. Or rather, someone special.
Kiku Honda, a swordsman of the infamous Captain Kirkland. Honda was exotic, mysterious and had a air of nobility that seemed strange among pirates. Indeed, he seemed to keep himself aloof from even his crewmates, though Heracles hadn't quite been able to tell if it was with pride or humility, or some other feeling entirely.
Before seeing him in action, though, Heracles had wondered if this tiny, seemingly delicate man could really be the swordsman he'd heard stories about.
That was before he did see him in a fight. Damn. Heracles had almost gotten skewered by an opponent because he couldn't take his eyes off the swordsman, with his elegant and deadly movements.
Since then, he'd been itching to try his own skills against Honda, though he suspected in a serious fight he probably would find himself second. To be honest, that knowledge only made him want it more. One never learned anything, after all, except by fighting against those who were better.
In hindsight, perhaps he should have worded that first challenge in some other way than "You must let me have a taste of you," but Heracles felt he had a good excuse for having been somewhat... distracted at the time. He could understand how that might have been confusing for someone as straight-laced as Kiku Honda, though.
Still, his more courteous challenges since then had always been deflected too, Heracles thought a bit dejectedly. Hopefully only because it hadn't ever been a good time, though Kiku hadn't answered the written invitations either...
However, here he was now, on the deck of a ship in dock, actually practicing. Heracles just watched for a moment more, enjoying the view, before stepping on the the deck himself, his feet landing on it almost soundlessly.
"Kiku Honda," he greeted the other man, his voice seeming to caress the name as he took a better hold of the cross staff he was carrying, angling it in front of himself in a challenging way. "Would you like someone real to spar against?"